Seattle's Magnolia Neighborhood News Blog

Adult summer camp explores history and civics August 8th

Posted on July 22nd, 2014 by Sara

Are your kids having all the fun this summer? Feeling left out? Never fear- here’s a summer camp just for you…

Seattle CityClub designed Civic Boot Camp for individuals to find a welcoming place and a road map for community engagement for themselves in order to strengthen our community’s civic health.

Boot Camp provides new residents, and current residents, with a sense of connection to each other and belonging to our region. It also helps create ties between diverse communities and ensures that immigrants and young people are incorporated into Seattle’s civic life.

Civic Boot Camp was developed following the publication of by Seattle CityClub’s2010 Greater Civic Health Index where it was first reported that the Greater Seattle region ranks lower than the rest of the United States in neighborliness. Over the last decade, greater Seattle has grown almost twice as fast as the nation as a whole, adding more than 415,000 residents. Our minority population accounts for 92% of that growth. In addition, Seattle was described recently as a “’city of the first move’ where young people move…right out of college…to hang out in a cool city with lots of starter jobs and other young people and night life.” Parallel to this growth, our region is also increasingly mobile. While nationally, 59.1% of residents have lived at their current address five years or longer, in greater Seattle, that rate is 47.4%.

Civic Boot Camp takes place over the course of one day where participants learn about Seattle’s rich history, connect with leaders and professionals and help shape our community. This summer, Civic Boot Camp is themed along the Downtown Seattle Waterfront with activities that include:

HistoryLink-led tour of waterfront sites including Pike Place Market, Olympic Sculpture Park and the Port of Seattle.

Interactive group discussion sessions.

Networking opportunities and Happy Hour

Creation of a takeaway personal civic action plan.

A micro-grant exercise.

One day session is $125 per person and includes: breakfast, lunch, beverages, admission fees, membership to CityClub ($50 value!), plus additional materials and resources. CityClub will provide a select number of scholarships. To register for the August 8th Civic Boot Camp call CityClub at 206.682.7395 or click here. A limited number of spots are also available for Friday, August 1st.